California Institute of Technology

Cite of Hope

Hirotake Komatsu

Yu-Chong Tai

Kuang-Ming Shang

A two-dimensional lattice or mesh scaffold for therapeutic cell implants is disclosed as well as methods for manufacture and use. The lattice is constructed of crisscrossing capillaries of hydrophobic parylene, such as parylene AF4, that may be coated with a hydrophilic polymer, such as parylene C, for cell adhesion. At each intersection of the crisscross, the intersecting capillaries are internally connected so as to allow oxygen to flow freely within. The walls of the capillaries are thin enough to be permeable to oxygen, on the scale of a micron thick, so that oxygen can flow through the lattice and permeate through the capillary walls. For some implants, cells are sandwiched between two or more lattices, the cells being slightly held apart from aggregation with each other by the lattice holes. The implants may then be surgically implanted within a subject.

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Temple City, CA, United States of America

Hirotake Komatsu